Life Expectancy of Digital Records

It has always been a fact that relatively little historical data has survived from any period and we have a reasonable idea of where we came from and what it was like "way back then". No doubt this will continue to be the case even if not every e-mail and family photo can/will be preserved for hundreds of years (never mind a thousand).

In addition as far as I can see the Millennial Disc appears to be more talk than substance. Very little was said about them on the (so called) producers website and even less on the gov site linked to above. I get the impression that these are a work in progress and not something anywhere near ready for prime time.

 

It's not just about historical record for sentimental purposes. With so much of what we know now being put into the digital sphere - and not even committed to paper in many instances - it's critical that proper care and preservation of our times be a priority. Think of all the advances in medicine that could survive any known calamity, not to have to be discovered all over again, if what we know now can simply be preserved.

In the short-term it means family photos, etc. In the long-term it means every single piece of knowledge known to humankind.

Anything less would be irresponsible to those who come after us.

 

Yes, of course, but it would seem reasonable that publishers of medical and other data of historical significance are taking steps to preserve their data. I would bet these folks are not going to Best Buy and picking up 100 CDs for $7.99 and then using them as a way to attempt to store the data for perpetuity. The question is more one of relevance for the average PC user who assumes that because they burned their files to a CD that they picked up at Best Buy that the data would last forever. Anyone who is handling data of a sensitive and valuable type should know better and if they don't they should be shot (well, not really shot but......).